Portus
by Krysnel Nicavis
Summary: INCOMPLETE Greg finds something at a crime scene that gives the team a whole new perspective on life. Harry Potter xover.
1. Testing the Theory

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely NOTHING… makes me wanna cry… :D

**Written for/Submitted to The Ultimate FanFic challenge:** community(dot)livejournal(dot)com/fanfic100/  
**My LDT Link:** krysnel-nicavis(dot)livejournal(dot)com/875(dot)html

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**Title:** Portus  
**Fandom:** CSI  
**Characters:** Nightshift CSI's  
**Prompt:** #27 – Parents  
**Word Count:** N/A (for now…)  
**Rating:** T (Some violence, minor coarse language, and minor suggestive adult themes.) _Rating may change._  
**Summary:** Greg finds something at a crime scene that gives the team a whole new perspective on life.  
**Author's Notes:** HP xover. I've wanted to do one of these for a while.  
**Disclaimer:** I own nothing …_**

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Portus

**01 – Testing the Theory**

"There is no such thing as magic," Nick insisted exasperatedly for the tenth time that night. Ever since he, Sara, and Greg were assigned a triple homicide in the back alley of a "magic" shop, Greg had been going on about Harry Potter and other such nonsense.

"You sound like Uncle Vernon," Greg stated as he snapped pictures.

"I am _not_ Uncle Vernon," Nick insisted.

"Oh please, Mr 'there's no such thing as magic'," Greg mocked. "Are you going to lock me in a storage closet when we get back to the lab?"

"_Boys,"_ Sara's sharp voice interrupted a retort from Nick. "Are you two sure you're not actually brothers? You fight worse than siblings. Hell, you fight like you're married."

"We are _not_ married," Nick said. "At least to the best of our knowledge we aren't."

"Jury's still out on the brothers thing though," Greg grinned. "Do you believe in magic, Sara?"

"Will you drop the magic talk?" Sara asked searching the ground around where the body had been for anything useful.

"Aww, c'mon," Greg whined. He paused in taking photos and got a mischievous little grin on his face. "Hey, _Sara,"_ he said, drawing out the vowels in her name. _"Do you believe in magic?"_ he began to sing._ "In a young girl's heart? How the music can free her whenever it starts."_

"Greg, that's enough."

"_And it's magic, if the music can move ya,"_ he continued as if she hadn't said anything. _"And hold you so tight that it never can lose ya."_

"I think we're done here," Nick said as Sara let out an annoyed breath.

"_Your feet start tapping and you can't seem to find if it's surely real or just a state of mind."_

"_Greg!"_ Sara snapped.

"Fine!"

- - -

"I bet this is a portkey." It was already three a.m. and they were no closer to finding a suspect than they had been at the start of shift.

"A _what?"_

"A portkey."

"What the hell is a 'portkey'?"

"A mode of transportation."

"If this has anything to do with-"

"Why are you guys talking about Harry Potter?" Catherine asked. The three turned to see her and Warrick standing in the layout room doorway.

"Because Mr. Potter himself won't stop babbling about it," Nick answered indicating Greg who was holding an old juice box.

"Our DB's were in the alleyway behind a magic shop," Sara clarified.

"Magic?" Warrick raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you a little old to be believing in that Greg?"

"Just because _you_ don't believe in it doesn't mean it isn't real," Greg replied brandishing the juice box.

"Why would you think it was a portkey anyway?" Catherine asked.

"Because one of the DB's was holding it."

"So, he could have been drinking it," Warrick argued.

"Eww, it was dirty and obviously had been fished out of one of the nearby trash bins."

"Well, there's only one way to test your theory Greg," Catherine said with a grin.

"Whoa, you don't believe it too, do you?" Nick looked at her semi-accusingly.

"No, but I'm not about to crush anyone else's dreams without the evidence to back it up."

"Fair enough," Nick raised his hands in defence.

"Okay, so everyone gather around," Greg said standing away from the table to give room and held out the juice box.

"What are you doing?"

"Like Cath said, there's only one way to test my theory." Nick quirked and eyebrow as Catherine reached forward and pressed a finger to the small box.

"Now what are _you_ doing?" Sara asked.

"If Greg is right and it's a portkey, you need to be touching it." Warrick snorted but followed suit. Sara and Nick looked at each other before shaking their heads and also reaching for the box.

"What's everyone doing?" Grissom's voice asked from the door way.

"It's an experiment," Greg replied.

"We're about to disprove the existence of magic," Nick offered.

"No, we're about to prove or disprove that this box is a portkey. That has nothing to do with disproving magic," Greg countered.

"So are you in?" Catherine asked their boss. Grissom sighed impatiently then shrugged and touched the juice box.

"Now what?" Sara asked.

"Now someone counts to three," Greg grinned. "One… two…"

"What's going on here?" Ecklie's voice asked from behind them.

"Three!"

- 30 -

End Chapter One

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_chapter updated: __March 10, 2008_


	2. Orange Goop and Corpse Juice

**Disclaimer:** same as chapter one.

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_**Portus **_

**02 – Orange Goop and Corpse Juice **

"AAAHH!"

There were a lot of screams and yelps as the six nightshift CSI's tumbled to the floor. They landed a bit hard in a small pile. Greg, who was under Nick and Warrick, groaned and gasped for air. He stared ahead of him where the juice box bounced a bit on the floor in front of him.

"Get off me!" he wheezed.

"Why, so you can say 'I told you so'?" Nick complained as he and Warrick lifted themselves off their younger colleague.

"You just had to encourage him," Sara pointed accusingly at Catherine once she pulled herself to her feet. "Didn't you?"

"How was I supposed to know the damned thing would actually work?" Catherine shot back.

"I take it the experiment was a success," Grissom commented as he removed his glasses and cleaned them with a cloth he pulled out of his vest pocket. Interestingly enough, all six CSI's had been wearing their vests at the time the portkey had been activated. A throat behind them cleared.

"May I inquire as to what you are doing in my classroom?" The six CSI's turned to find a tall man with a large, hooked nose and shoulder length greasy black hair dressed in stark black clothing – the clothing looking suspiciously like a robe. The group looked around them. They were in a large stone room filled with desks and high school age children. In front of each child was a small cauldron, fires flickering underneath them. Everyone was staring at them with wide-eyed confusion.

"You said this was your classroom?" Grissom asked the man.

"Yes."

"What exactly do you teach, Mr …?"

"I am Professor Severus Snape," the man drew his shoulders back a bit. "I am the Potions Master of this school, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and I am in the middle of a lesson with the seventh year-" Snape stopped short when he noticed the colour of potion bubbling rapidly on the cauldron to his left. "Longbottom!"

"It's going to explode!" a student screamed. The students ducked under their desks and Snape dodged behind the CSI's and behind his desk, dragging Catherine and Grissom with him. Warrick was able to turn his back just as the cauldron exploded and the bright orange potion splattered everywhere.

"Is everyone alright?" Grissom shouted as he, Catherine, and Snape came out from behind the desk. Warrick's entire back was covered with sticky orange goop. He turned around and bust out laughing when he seen Nick, Greg, and Sara completely covered down their fronts.

"Oh, this is disgusting," Greg said as he spit the orange substance out of his mouth. Nick and Sara were spitting it out as well.

"Is it better or worse than decomposed man-juice?" Sara asked, referring to the case where there was a body that decomposed in the trunk of a car and Greg had ended up with the liquefied flesh accidentally squirting into his mouth.

"Oh God," Nick gagged. "How the hell do you know what _that _tastes like?"

"Better," Greg groaned, swiping the sour lemon smelling sludge off his arms. "Definitely better."

"Am I missing something?" Warrick asked grimacing at the thought of liquefied corpse anywhere near his mouth. He reached up and wiped the goop off the back of his neck.

"Old case," Sara said wiping the orange mess off her face.

"This feels like the cheese dip you get with you nachos at the theatre," Nick said also wiping it away. "But it sure don't taste like it."

"How many of you ingested it?" Snape asked. Sara, Nick, and Greg all said 'me'.

"Hey Sar, you missed some," Greg said pointing to her face with a wide smirk.

"Oh, me?" Sara said with an eyebrow raised. Greg's face was still mostly covered.

"Yeah, you got a little right there," Nick grinned as well, globs of it still on his cheeks.

"Don't!" Snape shouted as they both reached out and wiped some of the goopy orange potion from her face. There was suddenly a bright orange flash and the sound of a scream. When it faded away, Sara was sitting in the middle of the floor with a dazed expression on her face. Nick and Greg were nowhere to be found but their clothes sat in piles on either side of her.

"Sara!" Warrick rushed forward to her. "Sara, are you okay?"

"Ugh, my stomach kind of hurts," she said, curling her body a bit.

"No one let any of this stuff get into your mouths." Snape said loud enough for everyone to hear. He took out an ornate stick and waved it at Warrick and Sara. The orange goop covering them instantly disappeared. "We need to get her to the hospital wing," he said to Warrick. Warrick put one arm behind Sara's knees and the other around her back and lifted her easily. "Mr Malfoy, Ms Granger, see that this potion is cleaned up." Snape turned to the CSI's, raising an eyebrow as he watched Grissom put on a pair of latex gloves and scoop some of the orange liquid in a vial from one of the students but chose not to comment. "Follow me." He led them out of the room to a dark stone hallway and up a large flight of stairs, his black robes billowing around him. They reached an atrium of sorts. The room seemed to go up forever. There were a large number of stairwells seen leading to the floors above. He led them up more stairs. "Stop and brace yourselves," Snape warned. The CSI's were confused until the stair case they were standing on moved. Warrick leaned forward onto the stairs so he wouldn't topple over with Sara still securely in his arms.

"What is this place?" Grissom asked with a strained voice.

"As I told you before," Snape stated impatiently. "You are now inside Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." They followed him off the staircase once in stopped moving and into a corridor. At one end of the corridor was the back of a large clock over looking a courtyard. Snape strode towards the other end where there were two very large wooden doors. He strode inside. "Poppy, there's been a situation in the potions class." An older woman was walking towards them dressed in an old style nurse's uniform.

"Place her down on that bed," she instructed Warrick before turning to Snape. "What was it this time, Severus?" Grissom frowned and mouthed 'this time', looking at Catherine who just shrugged – even though she had a bit of and idea.

"I had the seventh years brewing an advanced contraceptive potion," Snape explained.

"So what went wrong?"

"That dunderhead Longbottom botched his potion and caused it to explode. This young woman and two men accidentally ingested some and when the men tried to help her wipe it from her face…" he trailed off and gestured to Sara. Madame Pomfrey turned to Sara and took an ornate stick, similar to the one Snape had earlier, from a pocket in her skirts.

"Would you please lift your shirt a bit there Miss…?" she asked Sara.

"Sidle," Sara answered as she did so. "Sara Sidle."

"Pleased to meet you Miss Sidle, I'm Madame Poppy Pomfrey and I'm the school nurse," she introduced herself. She pointed the stick in her hand at Sara's stomach and uttered a few unidentifiable words that sounded like Latin. Her stomach glowed blue. The four CSI's looked startled but she ignored them. "Hmm, yes just as I suspected." Madame Pomfrey stopped pointing the stick at Sara and the light disappeared. Sara felt her stomach where the light had been. It still felt sore. "I just need to run a few tests to see how they're fairing."

"What? Who?" Sara asked confused.

"Oh, I'm sorry dear," Madame Pomfrey smiled kindly to her. Before she could continue the hospital wing doors opened and two people entered. One was an old man with half-moon spectacles and the other was a stern looking woman about Madame Pomfrey's age, her hair was pulled back into a tight bun. She set a small stack of clothing at the end of one of the hospital beds.

"Ah, here you are," the old man smiled welcomingly. "I wondered who had come to call when I noticed the wards had been breached."

"Wards? What's going on? Where are we?" Grissom asked, looking from one person to the next. "Aside from a magical school," he added, looking pointedly at Snape.

"Why don't you take a seat Mr Grissom," the old man gestured to one of the hospital beds. "Your vest gave it away," he grinned at the questioning look Grissom gave him. Grissom, Catherine, Warrick and Sara looked down to see their forgotten uniform vests, each bearing their surnames above the right breast pocket.

"Right. I'm Gil Grissom but you may call me Gil," he extended his hand to the old man.

"Pleased to meet you Gil, my name is Albus Dumbledore and you may call me Albus" the old man replied shaking his hand. "And I am the Headmaster of this fine school." Albus then introduced the other Hogwarts staff present. "This is Minerva McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor House and Professor of Transfiguration. You've already met our Potions Master and Head of Slytherin House Severus Snape, and the school nurse Poppy Pomfrey."

"Yes, it's a pleasure to meet you all." He turned to the other CSI's. "This is Catherine Willows, Warrick Brown, and Sara Sidle. We're crime scene investigators from Las Vegas, Nevada. Two more of our friends that we also work with, however, Nick Stokes and Greg Sanders have disappeared."

"There was an accident with a botched contraception potion in my seventh year class shortly after their arrival," Snape explained.

"Ah yes, I was wondering what would have caused two individuals to completely strip their clothing," Albus grinned and walked over to the small stack of clothing. "We retrieved these from Ms Granger in the potions class." He handed the stack, Nick and Greg's clothing, to Catherine. "Poppy, have you explained what has happened to their friends yet?"

"Not yet professor, I was just going to."

- 30 -

End Chapter Two

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_chapter updated: __March 17, 2008_


	3. Are You In There?

**Disclaimer:** same as chapter one.

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_Portus_

**03 – Are You In There?**

Sara was in a daze. It couldn't be possible. However considering that a used juice box Greg found at a crime scene had transported them to a magical school half way around the world the idea wasn't all that farfetched. It was still shocking. When Madame Pomfrey had begun broaching the subject of options Sara had come out of her daze long enough to figuratively bite the woman's head off. These were her friends for crying out loud.

None of the CSI's could quite grasp the fact that the reason Sara's stomach hurt was the fact that her uterus was now home to two ten week old foetuses. The reason for the discomfort was the fact that it had to adapt instantly instead of gradually, but Madame Pomfrey assured her the pain would go away once her body readjusted. Even more shocking was the fact that the foetuses were actually the two missing CSI's.

Apparently by ingesting the screwed up potion (of which the contraceptive qualities had reversed creating a type of fertility potion) the changed effects caused Sara – as a female – to "absorb" the first person or people to touch her skin. The potion ingested by Nick and Greg (who were male) however would have caused them to be "absorbed" by the first person they'd come in contact with even if it hadn't been her – this was alarming since the nurse had claimed males who ingested the potion have been known to be "absorbed" by other males they'd made skin contact with. They were still unsure why it reacted differently for each gender but she also claimed this particular potion has been screwed up more than a few times before since it had been invented centuries earlier. "And there were never any complications with the pregnancies or births of any of them to date." This did little to reassure Sara.

"All I can say is thank God they both touched you," Warrick quipped. Sara just glared.

"Madame Pomfrey has requested that you come back to the hospital wing this evening for another check up, just to be sure everything's alright," Minerva said to Sara. "But if the four of you would follow me, I will show you to your rooms."

"Our rooms?" Catherine looked questioningly.

"Yes, your rooms. You all will be staying here of course. With your friends in this position surely you will remain." The small group followed her from the room. "Albus will be meeting with the lot of you over lunch to discuss the situation."

"It's lunch already?" Warrick asked, shocked.

"Well it is where we are," Minerva answered. "Where you're from is nearly half way across the world."

"It's still really early in the morning back in Vegas," Catherine stated as she looked at her watch.

"Hey, my watch died," Warrick said as he looked at his digital watch.

"That would be because electronics don't work within the wards protecting Hogwarts," Minerva explained.

"I would feel more comfortable about staying here if I could have my daughter here with me," Catherine said as they walked along a corridor.

"I'm sure Albus can make the arrangements." Minerva stopped walking in front of a painting of a grassy field filled with wildflowers. A young woman in a soft white dress sat in the middle of the meadow, a unicorn lying beside her. "Nevada," Minerva said and the side edge of the painting swung forward slowly to reveal the doorway that was hidden behind it. "We thought we'd use a password you could identify with for the time being," Minerva explained as she entered the room.

The group entered into what looked like a large living room. A warm fire was lit in the fireplace. A burgundy couch and some armchairs with squashy looking cushions surrounded it. To the right was a large doorway leading to a study with a couple desks and shelves of books. Straight ahead, passed the living room area, a full kitchen area and dining table was visible through the cut-out area of the wall and empty doorway. A gently winding staircase stood a bit to the left leading up to where the bedrooms were and directly left of the front door was a bathroom.

"I hope this is will be to your liking," Minerva said as they glanced around the room. "The bedrooms are up those stairs and each room has their own private bathroom. This afternoon Albus is planning to arrange a trip for you to return to your homes in Las Vegas to pack your things. I'm sure that is when you may collect your daughter Ms Willows," Minerva nodded to Catherine. "If you like you may rest here for a short while or I can take you directly to the Headmaster's office."

"I think we'll stay here for a while and let some of the events sink in," Gil said as he caught sight of the clock sitting on the fireplace mantle. "There's still some time to go before lunch."

"Of course." Minerva said and exited the room. The four of Nevadans plopped down onto the soft couch and chairs.

"I can't believe Greg was right," Sara said, staring into the flames of the fireplace.

"I can't believe the people in Lindsay's books are real," Catherine shook her head in disbelief. "Though I wonder how much of those stories are actually real."

"I can't believe we're somewhere in Scotland," Gil stated.

"And I can't believe Sara's pregnant with Nick and Greg," Warrick grinned from his seat on the couch next to Sara. After a few silent moments the four burst out laughing.

"Oh, oww, I'm still kind of sore," Sara said holding her stomach as she laughed. "I hope my body adjusts fast, this is annoying." She placed a hand on her stomach. "Do you really think they're in there? I mean, I can't feel anything moving in there, but there's definitely _something_ there."

"Well, they said you're only ten weeks along, it'll be a while longer before you'll be able to feel anything they're doing in there," Catherine explained.

"You think they can hear us?" Warrick asked.

"Probably not yet, though they might be able to hear Sara's heart beating," Gil said. "It'll be a few more weeks until they hear anything outside the womb, but it won't be anything tangible."

"And you'll be halfway before they hear anything clearly," Catherine added. "And then they'll be reacting to the sounds around them."

After a while, once the CSI's were more at ease in their surroundings, Minerva returned and lead them through the vast halls of the castle until they reached a grotesquely beautiful stone gargoyle. "Ton-tongue toffees," she said. The gargoyle came to life and stepped aside as the wall behind it opened to reveal a spiral staircase moving upward in the same manner as an escalator. The four CSI's – who were now to the point that they'd accepted what was going on enough not to be startled by things – followed Minerva onto the stairs as they lifted them to an upper level. When they reached the top Warrick reached out to steady Sara as she wavered slightly, a bit dizzy from the ride. Ahead of them was a large oak door, its brass knocker shaped like a griffon. Minerva knocked and a muffled 'come in' was heard from inside.

"I trust your rooms are to your liking," Albus greeted from behind his desk. They all took seats surrounding the desk. "Lemon drop?" They politely declined. Albus waved his wand and plates of sandwiches appeared with a pitcher of pumpkin juice and a pitcher of orange juice. "Let's dig in while we discuss what's going to happen over the following months."

"Minerva informs us that you plan to arrange a way for us to return to Las Vegas for a short time," Gil said as he curiously poured himself some pumpkin juice.

"Yes, since you will be staying here for such a long time I thought it might be best for you to move your things here," Albus nodded. "Minerva informs me that you wish to have your daughter brought here as well, Ms Willows."

"Catherine is fine," the woman in question smiled. "And yes, I would feel more comfortable about staying here if I were able to have my daughter here as well."

"How old is your daughter?"

"She just turned eleven in June."

"Hmm," Albus tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Since you all reside in what can be called the 'new world' I wish to scan the four of you to determine the strength of your magical auras."

"Magical auras?" Warrick asked before taking a bite of a ham sandwich.

"Yes, Poppy was able to discover something curious about your two, well, young friends," Albus's eyes twinkled with humour and the CSI's grinned. "As well as you, Miss Sidle. She didn't think it wise to inform you yet as you had already taken in so much at once, but when she did the initial scans she was able to sense two strong magical auras emanating from the foetuses and a stronger aura from yourself."

"What is a magical aura?" Sara asked after swallowing a bite of her cucumber sandwich.

"A magical aura is essentially the magic an individual possesses," Albus explained. "Individuals who have magic are also able to sense the magic of others if they concentrate on it."

"You lot would not have noticed it since you never knew to look," Minerva added.

"Yes," Albus continued. "You see, aside from muggles, the wizarding world is most dominant in Europe, Asia, and most of Africa. But North and South America is dominated by those who identify themselves as mutants. As a result, there are few magical schools in the Americas so the majority of witches and wizards do not fully come into their powers."

"Some of those who are magical but are unaware of magical schools tend to focus their uncontrolled magic into a specific ability and are assumed to be mutants," Minerva explained. "They focus all their magic on a specialized form of wandless magic, usually something like levitation or manipulating elements such as fire and water and such."

"But sadly, without formal schooling, the majority of magical individuals in the Americas do not use any of their magic and it falls dormant from disuse overtime. Often, the magic of their offspring is repressed further making it so that a magical person can be born and never display what we call 'accidental magic'."

"But with proper training, dormant magic can re-manifest itself and grow into its normal active state."

"If it is your wish, we could train you in magic to the extent that your magical levels allow. Also, since magic has a tendency to be hereditary – though there are many cases where it is not – if your daughter's magical aura is also strong enough, she is of the right age to be enrolled in this school," he said to Catherine.

- - -

It was a strange feeling, finding out so much about your self. Sara sighed as she stared outside her bedroom window. She could see a portion of the grounds that surrounded Hogwarts castle and much of the lake. She sat in a cushioned rocking chair that was placed in front of the window and placed a hand on her stomach and stared at it.

"Are you guys in there?" she asked before looking back outside where the sky was turning colours as the sun went down for the night. "I hope you are. I don't want to think of what would be happening to you if you weren't." She sighed and looked around her room. It was very comfortable. The colours were soothing earthy greens and blues.

Earlier the other three had been accompanied back to Las Vegas by Albus, Minerva, and Severus to retrieve all their belongings – including Nick and Greg's. They still hadn't figured out how to explain this turn of events to their families but had decided to leave it for now. Poppy had been adamant that Sara didn't travel so far in her new condition since travelling such a distance could put too much strain on her. The others had instead made sure her apartment had been packed and transported to Hogwarts for temporary storage until they figured out what they were going to do.

As it turned out, all of them had quite strong magical auras. Even Lindsay had strong magic. Since the school year had only started at the beginning of this week, Lindsay had been enrolled in Hogwarts and sorted into the school house called Ravenclaw. The young girl was staying in the Ravenclaw dorms with her peers. Tomorrow they'd all be brought to Diagon Alley to purchase wands and other assorted items they'd need. They'd figured out that they'd be able to transfer their 'muggle money' into the wizard bank in Diagon Alley and that they'd each have enough to be able to start a small living in their new home. After a group meeting after Sara's evening appointment, the four of them decided that they really didn't want to return to their muggle lives back in Vegas. Over the next week they'd be taking care of ironing out all the wrinkles.

Sara stood and readied for bed. She lay in the cushy four-poster bed and sighed contently. She was happy to be given a chance at a fresh start on her life. She wondered how Nick and Greg would like this world.

Poppy had explained that with what had happened they would not be able to give Nick and Greg any sort of aging potion once they were reborn. They would be too young and the aging potion would disrupt their natural development and be extremely harmful to them. It had also been explained that aging them quickly would be pointless anyway. Once they were reborn their past lives will be little more than dreams to them. They would not have any solid recollection of their lives prior to being reborn and were literally going to be restarting their lives from the very beginning. Also, in cases like this, while Nick and Greg would mostly retain their original physical forms, the magic of the potion changed the makeup of the essence of their DNA as well as a portion of their actual DNA. Their own magical auras were now created from Sara's. If Sara married a wizard before they were born half of the auras would then become part of their new father's aura. After they are reborn, their physical features were going to alter slightly to reflect their new parents. As a result, the two would literally be Sara's own sons.

"Goodnight guys," Sara whispered as sleep overtook her.

- 30 -

End Chapter Three

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chapter updated:

_April 04, 2008_


	4. Wiggle, Wiggle

**Disclaimer:** same as chapter one.

Dialogue Legend:  
"Normal Speaking"  
_'Thinking'_  
:Twin-Bond Communication:

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Portus

**04 – Wiggle, Wiggle**

He'd seen the flash of orange light and it immediately brought back the memories that were still close enough to the surface that they haunted his very dreams. But this time there was no stabbing pain in his back, no burning flames. One second he was standing the next he was falling. The sensations were similar to when the portkey had been activated. It was tugging him down towards something. In panic and fear he'd blacked out. Then there was nothing.

When he finally came to his confusion only tripled. He moved his arms and legs and felt as though he were suspended in the middle of a strange liquid substance. _'Where am I?'_ he thought. He tried to open his eyes to look around but found that he couldn't. Lost in the dark he felt the panic begin to re-emerge as he floated in an unknown abyss. He felt close to screaming when he sensed another presence.

_:AAAHH!:_ He started at the sound. He knew it came from the other presence but he sensed the scream in his own head.

:Who's there?: He shouted, though his vocal cords didn't move. He wasn't even sure they were there. :Who are you?:

:Ohmygodohmygodohmy_god!_: It was then that he recognized the voice he was hearing.

:Nick?:

:Oh God…: Nick was hyperventilating… or at least the voice in his head sounded like it was.

:Nick.: There was no coherent response. _:Nick!:_

:Gr-Greg?: asked a small voice.

:Yeah, Nick. It's me.:

Silence.

:Wh-Where are you?: Nick sounded scared. :Where are we? I can't see anything… It feels like I'm back in the… back…: Greg could sense Nick's panic and understood what the other was feeling.

:Nick. Nick listen to me.: Greg demanded. :Nick, I don't know where we are. I don't know how we got here. But I know that you're not back in that box. I know it. And I also know you're not alone.:

More silence.

:I'm sorry…: Greg figuratively blinked and the quiet admission.

:What?:

:I'm sorry.:

:For what?:

:I didn't believe you.:

:Didn't believe what?:

:When you said you believed magic was real. I scoffed at it. I didn't believe you.:

:It's okay Nick.: There was a long pause.

:You never did say 'I told you so'.:

:I didn't need to put in the effort.: Greg snorted.

:Smart ass.:

:Meh, you know you love me.:

:Yeah, yeah. I guess you're my penance for being such a pain in the ass little brother.:

:Most likely.: Nick could hear the grin in Greg's voice.

:Thank you.:

:For what?:

:Not leaving me alone in this dark.:

:What are brothers for?:

- - -

:Hey Nick!: Greg called excitedly.

:What?: Nick's groggy voice asked.

:I can wiggle my fingers!:

: … wiggle your fingers?:

:I couldn't before.: Greg pointed out. :Now I can… Well, it's not really wiggling so much as it is being aware that they're not stuck together.:

:You woke me up for that?:

:Wiggle, wiggle. Wiggle, wiggle.…:

:You're so weird.:

:Yes, but it keeps me amused.: They were silent as Greg played with his newly found ability.

:Hey Greg?:

:What?:

:I can wiggle my toes...:

- - -

:Hey Nick!:

:What?:

:I can wiggle my fingers!:

:Haven't we already covered this?:

:No, I mean I can really wiggle them. I mean for real.:

:Cool.:

:I can make a fist too.:

:Can you flip the bird yet?:

:Very funny…:

- 30 -

End Chapter Four

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_chapter updated: April__ 17, 2008_


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